Automatic diving mechanism for submarine boats.



No. 693,272. Patentafi M. ii, 1902;

I J. P. HULLAND. AUTOMATIC DIVING HEGHANISfifi-flfi SUBfiABINE- BOATS.

(Application filed Aug. 13, 1901.) I

4 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

INVENTOP No, 693,272. Patented Feb. ll, I902 .1. P. HOLLAND. AUTOMATIC DIVING MECHANISM FOR SUBMABINE BOATS. (Application filed Aug. 13, 1901.

(No Model.)

o a o 0 Q5 '0 {x0 0 INVENTOR Ema/90L w MAATTOBNEY 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

.560. 693,272. Patented Feb. ll, I902.

J. P. HQLLAND. AUTUHR'HG DIVIHG MECHANISM FOR SUBHABINE BOATS. A

' I (Application filed Aug. 13, 1901.)

(No Model.) 4 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

warmssas: MENTOR "ATTORNEY No. 6931272. T w Paten ted Feb; 11 I902. .J. P. HOLLAND.

AUTDIATIG DIVING MECHANISM FOR SUBIABINE BOATS.

(Application filed Aug. 13, 1901 v (No Model.)

IIIIIIIIIIIII 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 llni'rnn enres hnren'r @FhlQli.

JOHN HOLLAND, OF NEWARK, NEW, JERSEY.

AUTQMATEC divine mizenunaezvi i-"ee eu eiuneiueeonrs."

SPECIFICATZOZN forming part of Letters Patent No, 893,272, dated February 1 1, 1902.

i Application filed August 13, 1901. Serial No. 71,883. (2% model.)

To a-ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that L-Jonu P. HOLLAND, a,

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Newark, in the county oi'Essex and State 5 of New Jersey, have invented certain 1m movements in Automatic Diving Mechan isms for Submarine Boats'and the Like, of which the following is a specification.

In order that the present invention maybe the better understood, it will be proper to state here that in the class ofsubmarine boats, including also the class of automatically-operated boats known as torgiedoesflenengine is employed to actuate the diving-rudders, and thejvalve of this diving-engine is automatically operated and controlled, in order, to cause the boat .to dive to a p'rcdetermined depth, bya flexible diaphragm exposed on one side to pressure from the water in which theboat is submerged and on the other side to the pressure of espring the tension 0? which is capable of regulation or adj ustment.

The diaphragm actuates a floating lever,

which latter modifies the action of the valve of the diving-engine, thus conirolling the "predetermined depth of dive, tnis spring sets the diving-rudders ovei fully into their diving position, so that as soon as the boat is set 5 in motion ahead it begins to dive, descending obliquely. As it continues to descend the hydrostatic pressure on the diaphragm opposing the spring increases with the depth until, at the predetermined depfli, the tn;

4o forces will exactly balance each other. The valve of the diving-engine will then be at the center of its travel, and the diving r'udders will be at stea 1y,-orbe elined with the axis of the boat. 'lhe path followed by the boat 5 in itsdescent will be a. curve of gradually-increasing radius, because the inclination of the divingfruddcrs is greatest when the boat is at the surface, and this inclination gradually decreases as the boat descends; but when the boat shell have reached the predetermined depth, and the diving-rudders are thereby brought into ulinemcnt with the axis of. the

boat, the bonts axis will not be horizontal, as it should be. In fact, said axis will cross the plane of predetermined depth at a very considernhle engle,-aod the reverse curve necessery to bring the hoe-t to a levei heel must he described below the level or plane of predetermined depth untilthe bout rises again and traverses euid plane from below at a c0usideruhleangle. Theobjection to this control ling means is that if ihedepth of water should notmneh exceed the desired depthof sub-'- niergenceut the poiht where the boat dives it is obvious that the letter will. strike the bottom, and this wild, be almost certain to seriously disable the neat, particulz yly if the bottom he rocky.

' in Vi8W of theeheveeeuditions the purpose of the ureaent invention is to provide autometicmeens, cpcreiin'g in coejunction with the menus ehove described, for confining the foriuetieu oi" the reverse curve in theboats path downward. to a depth not exceeding that of the predeterminedsuhmergenoe, whereby the diving hoe; will he brought to the plane This is effected by providing automatic means, opemtingin conjunction with but in e measul e independently of the means above described,

inclination when thehoat shall have descended to a depth which such a fraction of the total depth of suhmergence as may be found by experiment suitable fora particular boat.

The effect of thus reversing the inclination A V of the rudders is to cause the boat at the m0- znent of reversal to change its direction and follow a curved path which is the reverse of ihet it was before following, the new curved path being tangent to the plane of. predetermined depth of submerge'nce, thus bringing I zmd a side elevation of the rear portion 'o'f 'ap 5 boat provided with the improved diving meek-' enism. Farts of the hoat-hodyare broken away to show the mechanism. Fig. dis a sec-- for giving to the diving-rudders a reversing tional elevation of the diving-engine and mechanism on a larger scale. speclive detail View.

Referring primarily to Fig. 1, 09 represents Fig. -5-is a perthe waterline, 7/ is the predetermined plane' of submergeuce, and z is the bottom-of'the waterway. The boat a is represented in full lines as at the Water-level ready'fomdiving. Bythe ordinary means employed for controllingthediving-rudders the boat would follow thecurved path indicated by dotted lines at cu, eventually crossing the plane y, as indicated at a. \Vith-the improved means which form the embodiment of this invention the boat will change direction at some point y,

and follow the reversed curved path indicated by the dotted lines as, and reach the plane g on a level keel. This diagrammatic view will suffice to illustrate the purpose of the invention, which will now be more particularly described with reference to the detail views;

In the views, a re'presentsthe boat or boatbody, and b the diving-rudders, usually secured on acommon shaft 0. d is an arm on said shaft from which an operating-rod eeictends into the boat and there becomesthepistomrod of the diving-engine as seen in Fig. 2. It need only be said of this engine that g is the piston,secured to the rod e; h is the valve-chest; 71 is the inlet for the fiuid under pressure which moves the piston, and j is a slide-valve ,which normally controls the-ports of the en- In the ordinary or known construegine. tions of mechanisms for controlling the-diving-rudders of a submarine boat, heretofore briefly described, the valve j or one similar thereto is employed alone to control the ports of the engine.

7; is the stem of the valvej. This stem 7cis coupled by a link to the shorter arm of a lever m, fulcru med on a block 91, which slides in guides on the frame parallel with the axis of the engine f. The longer arm of the lever m is coupled to a block 9, secured to the piston-rod 2. From this construction it will be noted that if the fulcrum-block n be held stationary the movement of the piston g of the engine will act through the lever m to shift or actuate the valvej. Another lever,

q, is fulcrumed at the block at on the same axis with the lever m. One arm of this lever q is coupled to a rod 1, which extends to the conning-tower of the boat or to some other point where. this lever may be operated by hand for shifting the valve j, and the other arm of said lever is coup ed, throngh alink 3, to a diaphragm-rod 25 through the medium of a regulating device, which may be briefly described. The linksis coupled to a rocking lever u, mounted on the rod z,and carries a pawl U, which engages teeth on a quadrant-plate w, fixed on the rod 25. By tuxgfing the lever 24 about its fulcrum and locki g it in the new position, with the dog or pawl 2; engaging the teeth on the quadrant-plate w, the effect will be the same as to shorten or lengthen the link 5, and thus vary the relations and positions of the operating parts. For the purposes of the present invention t e link 3 will be or may be supposed to coup e directly to the rod 15, as it might do. The rod t enters a diaphragm-casing l and is fixed to a diaphragm 2 therein. This is the main diaphragm. device for regulating the diving-rudders and the diaphragm is always under pressure of the water of flotation, which is admitted to the casing ,1 throng an inlet-pipe 3. The rod 25 is coupled to a lever 4:, fulcrumed at one end on the frame, and connected at its other end to a spring 5; which antagonizes or resists the pressure'of the water on the dia- -phragm 2. The tension of the spring 5 is reg ulat'ed by a screw 6 and nut 7 in a known way, and the screw may carry a pointer qr indicatori; to facilitate the regulation.

herein as used conjointlyand in operative be described.

8 is a diaphragm-casing containing a diaphragm. 9 and having an inlet 10 open to the "water of flotation. This diaphragm has a rod 11, which is coupled to 'a lever 12, and a spring drostatic pressure-of the water on the dia: phragm 9; The tensiouof this spring 13 is regulated by means of a screw 14 and nut 15, similar to the adjusting devices of the spring one of its members coupled by a link 17 to the rod 11, and its other member coupled by a link 18 to the stem 19, Figs. 4 and 5 of an auxiliary slide-valve 20 in the valve-chest and between the cylinder-ports and the main valve j. The rods 11 and play through a guide 21. (Seen in Fig. 2.) The diaphragm 2 and valve j may be called, fondistiuction, the diving diaphragm and-valve, and the diaphragm i) and valve 20 the reversing diaphragm and valve. The function of the former is to bring the rudder? from the extreme inclinations to steady, and the function of the latter is to clination and then leave them under control of the diaphragm 2. The tension of the spring 13 is so adjusted and set that it yields only whan the boat shall have descended to the predetermined depth, at which the rudders are to be reversed or shifted to an upward inclination. It will be understood that when the boat is at the surface, asifjtt a Fig. l, the parts will be in the positidn seed in Fig. at-that is, the diving rudders will be at steady or parallel with the boats axis, and the piston g and valves 3' and 20 will be in the positions shown.

The operation is'as follows: When the boat is to dive, the operator or steersman, through the medium of the rod 0*, operates the lever q and valvej so as to admit fluidor liquid (usually oil) under pressure to the cylinder of the diving-cnginef, (to the left of the pisscombination with the novel features now to '13, coupled to this lever, antagonizes the hyshift'the rudders quickly to an upward in- So I 5 The above features are only illustrated- 5. A double knuckle-lever 16, Fig. 5, has

IIO

ton as seen in Fig. 4, thus movin said 1 exam ic itisnotinaterial usthow piston and its rod 6 so as to set the rudders b to the extreme. diving position or inclina- The boat is then startedtion downward. ahead and it dives, descending; in a downward curved path. The operator having shifted the valvej back again, the lower end of the lever q, where the rod 7' is coupled, hecomes a fulcrum oi the said lever, and asthe boat descends the hydrostatic pressure acts on the diaphragm 2 to overcome the spring 5, and through the block it, the lever m.'and the stem is to shift the valve j and admit liq- -uid to the right-hand end of the cylinder,

Fig. 4:, thus bringing the rudders toward steady; but the movement of the piston and its rod acts on the valve-stein 7a through the lever m, which is coupled to said rod at p and. .i'ulcrumed at n, and tendsto counteract this movement of the valve j, and the coin.- oined action of the two mechanisms results in the gradual shifting of the diving-rudders to steady by relatively slow increments. W'hen, however, the boat shall have reached a predetermined depth, where the, downward curve is to be reversed, as at *y in Fig. 1, for example, the hydrostatic pressure will act on the diaphragm 9 of the curve-reversing mechanism. The operation of this mechanism, which is seen at the left in Fig. 4 and in the perspective view, Fig. 5, will be explained. Let it be supposed that the piston g has traveled from the right-hand end of the cylinder in Fig. 4 about one-fourth of its entire travel and the valvej is just closing the ports inthe auxiliary valve 20, which latter ports are always open to those of the cylinder. As the diaphragm 9 is pressed inward it acts,through the lever 16, the coupling-links, and the stem 19, toshift thc'valve to the right in Fig. 4, the intermediate knuckle-lever or double lever 16 imparts to the valve 20a movementin the same direction as the rod 11, and, of course, any means of coupling the rod 11 to the valvestem 19 to produce this motion in the properdegree and to the proper extent will suifice.

The shitting of the valve 20, as described, opens the port for the admission 'of the liquid to the right-hand end of the cylinder, and the piston is driven thereby fully to the left-hand end thereof, thus throwing the rudders upward. and causing the boat to change its direction in a vertical plane by reversing the curve of its descent. The diaphragm will now govern and bring the rudders back to steady when the boat reaches the predetermined depth on an even keel.

The invention herein claimed has'been described as employed in connection with a diving mechan sm not herein claimed, to which the new mechanism has been fitted, so as to act in conjunction therewith; but I donot wish to limit myself to the specific features oi. construction as herein shown, as 1am well.

aware that these may be varied without (1eparting from the spirit of my invention. For

I the spring 5 shall be disposed so long as it serves its purpose. The valves/and 20 have been arranged one under the-other; but so long as they are so disposed as to perform their proper functions the specific arrangement is not very important. I should consider any diaphragm device adapted to automatically shift the diving-rudders at a predetermined depth, so as to reverse the curvature of the boats downing-diaphragm, as coming within the scope of my invention. Moreover, the diaphragm devices herein shown being old in themselves any equivalent device, as a piston in a cylinder, which is also well known, might be sub stituted therefor. The diaphragm device shown is selected merely because it has been found most satisfactory in practice.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim- 1. Asuhmarine boathavingdiling-rudders, an engine for operating the name, means for automatically controlling said engine to bring the said rudders to steady at a predetermined depth, and means for automatically shifting predetermined depth in order to cause the diving: boat to follow a path of reverse curvature, for the purpose set forth.

2. 1A submarine boat having an engine for operating it's diving-rudders, a diaphragm device for automatically controlling said engine to bring the said rudders to steady, and a. diaphragm device controlling said engine automatically and momentarily at a predetermined depth for shifting the diving-rudders quickly to an upwardly-inclined position, in order to change the curvature of the path of the boat, for the purpose specified.-

with the diving-rudder, the diving-engineand its main valve, the piston-rod of said engine being connected with said rudder for operating it, the main diaphragm device, aud intermediate fioating levers which control the said main valve normally in diving, of means for axis of the boat-at a predetermined depth of submersion, to reverse the curvature of the descending path of the boat, said means comprising an auxiliary valve for the diving-en- .gine, for modifying the action of the main valve thereof, an auxiliary-diaphragm mechanism, and mechanism between said diai'ormer controls the latter.

4. In a submarine boat, the combination engine and its vaiv'e, the floating levers, and the diaphragm device which controls the rudders normally in diving, of means for throwing" the diving-rudders up above the axis of the boat at apredetermined point in the submersiomdo reverse the curvature of the de throwing up the diving -.rudders above thephragrn and auxiliary valve, whereby the with'the diving rudder or rudders, the diving-- Ward path, andto again actautomatically to leave them under control of the normal divsaid rudders to an upward inclination at a;

'3. in a submarine boat, the combination seendiiig path, said means comprisifig an InwviLne ss whereufl havehex'ennmsigned auxiliary valve 20, itsistem 19, the auxiliary my name, this .lLh day of Augusi:,l901, in the diaphragm device, and the double kuucklepresence of two subscribing witnesses. lever 16, one member of which is con pled to JOIIN l. HOLLAND.

said stem 15l and the other to the rod of the i Witnesses: said auxiliary diaphragm device, substan- PETER A. Ross,

tinlly as-set forth. K. M. '(JAIL'LHJEN. 

